Latest White Sox Talk

If no news is good news, than the White Sox have received a whole lot of good news this winter, because they're still waiting on the free-agent decisions of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

They're still in the hunt for the top two names on the free-agent market, a pair of 26-year-old superstars with the ability to transform the franchise. But the ongoing chase for the services of Harper and Machado now seem likely to drag past the opening of White Sox camp Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona. How long will they drag on past that?

"Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, and Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano, both are believed to be seeking at least $300 million," Rosenthal wrote. "Neither wants to sign first, knowing once one of the players goes off the board, the other will benefit from gaining the sole attention of the remaining suitors."

That $300 million wish, at least in the case of Machado, seems almost laughable at this point. The only offer with reported details out there is the one that came from the White Sox, and depending on who you believe, it might be worth $175 million over seven years. Lozano was quick to deny that, not a surprise considering it's about half the amount it was expected Machado could demand at the outset of the offseason. Other reports talked of an eight-year deal worth $250 million, but a flurry of follow-up reports countered that figure as untrue.

It makes you wonder that if Lozano is really waiting for a $300 million offer for Machado, is he ever going to stop waiting?

Harper, meanwhile, supposedly received an offer worth $300 million from the Washington Nationals, an offer that was reportedly rejected. Again, the total Harper expected to command at the start of the offseason was $100 million bigger. There have been no other reported offers out there for Harper, though the White Sox reportedly met with him twice during the final months of 2018. The Phillies met with Harper this winter — and continue to be described as the most likely landing spot — and the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants met with him in recent weeks.

It was reported that Machado will take the highest offer, though if the one from the White Sox is currently the highest, it makes you wonder what he's waiting for. The obvious answer would be that he's waiting for more money, a richer offer than the one currently on the table. For White Sox fans wondering why the team doesn't just up their offer and get this over with, what would they have to gain by doing so? If they can eventually get the player at the current price, why would they pay more? Rosenthal described the White Sox unwillingness to get into a bidding war:

"White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, for one, would prefer to chase the market rather than set it, according to sources. That way, he could avoid a bidding war, wait until the very end to hear the number he needs to reach, then decide whether he is willing to pay."

That seems to indicate that there might be wiggle room to increase the final contract offer and that the White Sox are not in a "take it or leave it" situation with what's currently on the table. But again, there's perhaps no one to bid against except themselves at the moment, and it would be foolish to do that.

Of course, the White Sox remain committed to landing a premium talent, with general manager Rick Hahn saying at SoxFest that he hopes to dispel of the notion that the team won't pay top dollar to acquire an impact player of this stature. Any willingness to adjust the final number to beat out another suitor would seem to reinforce that seriousness.

The final piece of the puzzle could be the Phillies, who have been obvious players in both of these sweepstakes all winter. But there haven't been any reported details of offer coming out of the City of Brotherly Love. Rosenthal wrote that the Phillies "figure they will get one of the two stars, knowing they can top any offer." That seems to be news you can use, especially if Machado and perhaps Harper are focused solely on taking the richest contract available.

But until then, the "staring contest" analogy seems apt. Nothing is happening, and the baseball world is waiting for someone, anyone to blink.

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Latest White Sox Talk

Every father loves seeing their son hit a home run in a game, but White Sox director of conditioning Allen Thomas had a different perspective of his son’s home run on Wednesday.

Thomas’ son, Alek Thomas, was drafted in the second round of the 2018 draft by the Diamondbacks and is still in big league camp with Arizona. He homered against the White Sox in the ninth inning of a Cactus League game.

Alek, an 18-year-old Mount Carmel grad, went through the normal celebrations with his teammates, but soon after wanted to get dad’s attention. He was waving in dad’s direction as if to say, “Hey dad, did you see that?”

At first, Allen was trying to play it cool and not draw attention to the fact that his son just homered off his team. Eventually, they made eye contact and had a precious interaction caught in a split screen on the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast.

Alek Thomas, son of White Sox director of conditioning Allen Thomas, just homered against the White Sox in spring training.

Latest White Sox Talk

Eloy's finally comin' to the South Side, it would appear, with every national baseball writer under the Twitterverse's sun reporting that the White Sox are on the brink of a long-term deal with the No. 3 prospect in baseball, a contract that would keep Jimenez as part of what Rick Hahn is hoping is a perennial contender for the better part of the next decade.

The deal, which has not yet been made official by the team, is hard to see as anything but a smashing success for the White Sox. Are there risks with guaranteeing a reported $43 million to a player who's never swung a bat in a major league game? Sure. But the positives far outweigh the potential negatives.

In the immediate, it completely wipes away the service-time element that has been dominating the conversation over Jimenez's approaching major league debut. Though they never publicly stated this was their intent, the White Sox, playing well within baseball's rules, were expected to delay Jimenez's big league arrival a few weeks into the 2019 regular season, earning an extra year of team control by doing so and turning the typical six-year rookie contract into seven years of club control. Any team would be foolish not to take advantage of those rules, but the accusation of "manipulation" now never has to be made and the argument doesn't even need to take place. The entire topic gets thrown out the window and this contract locks in six surefire years of control with team options for another two. If the contract lasts all eight years, it will assure Jimenez stays in a White Sox uniform one year longer than he would have without it.

With that service-time issue no longer an issue, Jimenez's debut doesn't need to be delayed. He can appear on the White Sox roster for Opening Day next week in Kansas City. That gives him a full season in the majors in 2019, with the opportunity to do the usual growing and developing and learning that comes along with a first full season in the bigs. Rick Renteria will be able to pencil Jimenez into his everyday lineup starting on Day 1. It might not necessarily translate to any more wins for the White Sox this season, considering he was only expected to be in the minor leagues for a few weeks, but it makes the team better from the jump.

Arguably the team's best player will be in the lineup for the season opener next Thursday and for the home opener April 4, not sentenced to a fortnight or two of avoiding injury down in Charlotte. It provides a tangible example of progress in a rebuilding effort that's been plagued by negative headlines of late, be it the incensed reaction from the fan base following the front office's missing out on Manny Machado or another highly rated pitching prospect having Tommy John surgery and getting put on the shelf for a year. Instead, the No. 74 jerseys can start flying off the shelves, and the top reason to pay attention to this team in 2019 begins a month earlier than it would have. All good things.

Obviously, Jimenez benefits in the short term, too, getting a big raise right away. That's life-changing money for just about anyone, and that includes a 22-year-old minor leaguer from the Dominican Republic. Though he's delaying his first stab at free agency by a year, he gets stability in return, as well as a pretty nice demonstration of the faith the White Sox have in him to become one of the game's elite players.

But this deal isn't about the White Sox getting Jimenez in the lineup every day over the next six months, it's about getting him in the lineup every day for the next eight years. The assurance that he'll be a part of the core for the next eight years extends the planned contention window that far into the future. It provides an anchor in the lineup that figures to feature more players like Jimenez over the coming years: the Luis Roberts, Micker Adolfos, Nick Madrigals and Zack Collinses.

Of course, it's unlikely the White Sox will get to perennial-contender status on prospects alone, and the outside additions they tried to make this offseason will have to come at some point. This deal helps with that, too. Jimenez could've conceivably made more money in the arbitration process. The White Sox could use the savings on free agents, and luring them figures to get easier once they see what Jimenez can do.

See? A wealth of positives. The pessimists will track down the negatives, and they won't make incorrect points. Jimenez is completely unproven as a major leaguer, without a single big league plate appearance to his name. Prospects, even the highly rated ones, don't always hit, and to push the chips in on six to eight years of a player who's never seen major league pitching is by definition risky. There's a reason there were only two deals like this prior to this one.

But this deal reflects just how highly the White Sox think of their organization's top-rated prospect. Hahn and Renteria both said this offseason that they believe Jimenez can be on the same level as the big-name free agents the team pursued this offseason. Jimenez has the same kinds of expectations for himself.

Those expectations have now been teamed with commitment. It looks like a winner for the White Sox, but the eventual review of the deal will be made by Jimenez and how much he can do to help this rebuilding team turn into a World Series winner.

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